As students walk on the graduation stage in their cap and gown and accept their degrees, they embark on a future where they know their hard work will surely land them the job of their dreams. However, for the average 2024 graduate, trouble in the job market — including skills mismatching in the hiring process, decreasing job opening rates and more — has made this dream feel unreachable.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that unemployment in July 2024 was 4.3%, rising from 3.5% in July 2022. This trend is explained by a decreasing monthly job opening and hiring rates.
The monthly job opening rate fell from 5.3% in December 2023 to 4.9% in June 2024. The hiring rate also dropped from 3.8% in June 2023 to 3.4% in June 2024.
One reason for these market changes is bifurcation. Public job openings are being marketed more towards individuals without bachelor’s degrees. In 2023, 65.75% of job postings were targeted towards those without four-year degrees, the percentage increasing by 0.23% in 2024. The demand for workers without bachelor’s degrees outweighs the demand for those with educational backgrounds, going against the increasing number of degrees given to students every year.
Despite the surge in college graduates, many are finding themselves at odds with the job market. One reason stems from a phenomenon known as skills mismatching. This issue manifests in two primary forms: vertical mismatch and horizontal mismatch. Vertical mismatch occurs when individuals with higher levels of education or specialized skills are unable to find employment that fully utilizes their qualifications.
For example, a recent graduate with a degree in advanced engineering may end up in a job in customer service that doesn’t require such a high level of expertise. This mismatch not only underutilizes their skills but also contributes to job dissatisfaction and underemployment.
On the other hand, horizontal mismatch refers to the discrepancy between the field of study and the job roles available. In this scenario, graduates may possess skills relevant to their specific study area, but these skills do not align with current job market demands.
For instance, while there may be a high demand for data analysts, the job market might be saturated with graduates from fields unrelated to data analysis, such as humanities or social sciences. This misalignment results in a surplus of graduates in certain sectors and a shortage in others, highlighting a disconnect between educational outcomes and employment opportunities.
Addressing these mismatches is crucial for improving job market efficiency and ensuring that the growing number of graduates can find roles that both fulfill their career aspirations and meet the needs of employers.
According to a ZipRecruiter survey, job seekers do not feel confident in their job search because of these market trends. Using the first quarter of 2022 as a datum index of 100, job-seeking confidence fell from 98.9 in the first quarter of 2024 to 93.1 in the second quarter — a 5.8-point decrease.
In a quarterly survey of 2,000 people, ZipRecruiter found that 43% searched for jobs daily during the second quarter of 2024, compared to 37% in the last quarter of 2023. Students apply to hundreds of jobs at a time, hoping that at least one interview will land them their next step in their career — or, for many, a new start since acquiring higher education.
Austin Gies, a 2024 ME graduate, received his full time job offer in September of his final year at Tech. He now works for the company where he interned.
“I was fortunate to get this offer,” he said. “For some of my friends [getting a job] was a little easier, but some a lot harder.”
Gies still applied for roughly 30 job openings, citing concerns over not finding a job and wanting to “cast a wide net”.
“It’s kind of variable depending on what you’re doing and what you’re interested in,” Gies added. “Where I am, we are hiring but I know that other markets are having hiring freezes.”